Maryland has twenty-three counties and the city of Baltimore, which is not under county jurisdiction. At the courthouses are recorded transfers of land, estates, and other records. The first column below indicates the map coordinate. In the second column is the name of the county with the mailing address of the county circuit court clerk, where deeds, mortgages, vital records, divorces, naturalizations, and other matters are recorded. In the third column is the date the county was created and the name or names of the parent county or counties. The date the earliest land deed was recorded appears in the fourth column. In the last column is the date when Orphans’ Court records begin, followed by the mailing address of that court’s clerk and the register of wills, if different from the circuit court clerk. While some records are available in the counties, most original and/or microfilm copies of land, estate, vital, and court records have been transferred to the Maryland State Archives. As new county records are created, they will continue to be microfilmed and sent to the state archives. Other county offices not included below may have different mailing addresses.

Map

County

Circuit Court

Date Formed

Parent County/ies

Deeds

Orphans’ Court

B2

Allegany

30 Washington St. Cumberland 21502

1789

Washington

1791

1790

G4

Anne Arundel

P. O. Box 2395 Annapolis 21404-2395

1650

original

1653

1777 7 Church Cir. Annapolis 21401-2368

The courthouse was destroyed by fire in 1704, with the loss of all but three court record volumes. Deeds before 1699 were lost, but there are five volumes record volumes. Deeds before 1699 were lost, but there are five volumes

Most records were destroyed when the courthouse burned in 1882, but some deeds dating back to 1840 were re-recorded. Abstracts of deeds sent to Annapolis beginning in 1784 and provincial court deeds/land office records also make up for some of the destroyed records.

J4

Caroline

109 Market St. P. O. Box 356 Denton 21629-0356

1773

Dorchester/Queen Anne’s

1774

1774 109 Market St. P. O. Box 416 Denton 21629-0416

F2

Carroll

55 N. Court St., Rm. G-8 P. O. Box 190 Westminster 21157-0190

1837

Baltimore/Frederick

1837

1837 55 N. Court St., Rm. 104 Westminster 21157

J2

Cecil

129 East Main St. Elkton 21921

1674

Baltimore

1674

1675

Many early court records have disappeared.

F6

Charles

200 Charles St. P. O. Box 3060 La Plata 20646-3060

1658

original

1658

1665 5200 Charles St. P. O. Box 3080 La Plata 20646-3080

H6

Dorchester

206 High St. P. O. Box 583 Cambridge 21613-0583

1669

Somerset/Talbot Talbot

1669

1852 206 High St. Cambridge 21613

There are gaps in the court records. Some were probably lost in a fire in 1852.

E2

Frederick

100 W. Patrick St. Frederick 21701

1748

Baltimore/Prince George’s

1748

1751

There were two major fires, but no major loss of records.

A2

Garrett

203 S. 4th St. P. O. Box 447 Oakland 21550-0447

1872

Allegany

1873

1872 313 E. Alder St., Rm. 103 Oakland 21550

H2

Harford

20 West Cortland St. Bel Air 21014

1773

Baltimore

1773

1774

Some records were destroyed in a fire in 1858.

F3

Howard

8360 Court Ave. Ellicott City 21043

1850

Anne Arundel

1839

1840

The county was formed in 1838 as Howard District of Anne Arundel Co., but did not gain full county status until 1850.

J3

Kent

103 North Cross St. Chestertown 21620-1511

by 1642

original

1648

1674

A courthouse fire in 1720 destroyed some records.

F3

Montgomery

50 Maryland Ave. Rockville 20850

1776

Frederick

1777

1777

A southern section of the county was set off in 1788 to form the District of Columbia.

Patuxent

1654 (renamed Calvert, 1658)

original

G5

Prince George’s

14735 Main St. P.O. Box 1600 Upper Marlboro 20773-1600

1696

Calvert/Charles

1696

1698 5303 Chrysler Way P.O. Box 1729 Upper Marlboro 20773-1729

J4

Queen Anne’s

100 Courthouse Sq. Centreville 21617

1706

Dorchester/Talbot/Kent

1707

1706 107 North Liberty St. P.O. Box 59 Centerville 21617-0059

G6

Saint Mary’s

41605 Court House Dr. P.O. Box 676 Leonardtown 20650-0676

1637

original original

1827

1658 41605 Court House Dr. P.O. Box 602 Leonardtown 20650-0602

The courthouse was destroyed by fire in 1831. Some deeds were re-recorded back to 1781, and abstracts of deeds sent to Annapolis beginning in 1784 also make up for some of the records that were destroyed.